


Diners and Dives

by SourWolf



Series: Lessons Learned [14]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-19
Updated: 2012-05-19
Packaged: 2017-11-05 15:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/407787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SourWolf/pseuds/SourWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek and Stiles are getting back on track after the party, but Derek can't shake his bad luck.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Diners and Dives

**Author's Note:**

> I've been on vacation with family and haven't really been able to focus on writing, so this probably isn't the best. Tell me what you think.

By the next full moon, Derek and Stiles were getting comfortable with each other again. At first, he would try to strike up a conversation about what happened between them at the party, but Derek would always deflect the conversation or kill it outright. After a few tries, I think Stilinski realized that it was intentional because I never heard the subject brought up again.

But even the awkward silence between them in those moments weren’t enough to stop the idiots from being as close to each other as humanly possible. It seemed like there was always an excuse for them to be underneath each other. How dense could they both be? It made me sick to my stomach, but at least Derek always made sure to have a list of errands for me to run. There was always an excuse to get me out of his house for a few hours so he could get his alone time with his precious little hyperactive nerd.

One day they got into a fight when Stiles showed up after school smelling particularly rancid. Somewhere during Derek growling about Stiles needing to stop it with the drugs, Stiles flipped the whole fight over. Stiles started chewing Derek out about how January was the wolf moon and how the entire pack was supposed to be together for the occasion. I was sitting on the couch laughing the entire time. I had never seen Derek subdued like this. I really needed to keep some popcorn on reserve for when this happens.

Derek may have lost the fight – definitely lost the fight – but it didn’t stop him from getting the last word. He picked Stiles up by the collar of his shirt and threw Stiles into a bed (I’ll just conveniently ignore the fact that Derek chose his own bed for this) and told Stiles to sleep off the pills before slamming the door closed.

He stomped downstairs, turning a glare on me as I continued laughing. He growled and pointed to the door. “I thought I told you an hour ago to pick up some groceries.”

“What? Are you going to do? Carry me to my room?” I teased, flinching away as his fangs were suddenly in my face. “Fine! Fine! I’m going!” I said, crawling out form under Derek’s threatening figure.

About ten minutes after I got back with a supply of food that would last the week in the fridge Derek and I put under the shed out back, I heard a car pull up. Derek was waiting outside before the person even got out of his car.

“Stiles is here, right? He’s safe?” Sheriff Stilinski’s voice asked worriedly. “I was trying to call him to see if he wanted to get dinner but he’s not answering.”

“He’s asleep.” Derek answered. I could practically hear the way his head tilted as he listened for the calm heartbeat of the sleeping boy upstairs to double check the validity of his answer.

“Oh. Well, good. He had a big test today that he was worried about. Tell him to give me a call when he gets up, would you, Derek?” The sheriff asked. I rolled my eyes. Was this guy serious? Alleged murderer, nephew of a confirmed murderer, and all around dark and creepy guy, but he willingly leaves his son in the man’s burned and caving-in excuse for a home? No wonder Stiles didn’t have any sense of self-preservation.

“I’ll wake him. He’s been sleeping for a few hours. He won’t be able to get any sleep tonight if he doesn’t wake up soon.” Derek answered, and I snickered softly. My laugh was cut short when I heard a soft warning growl that I knew was meant for me.

Hale dragged Stiles out of bed despite the teen’s complaints.

“Your dad’s here.” Derek said flatly as he fought against Stiles’ attempts to crawl back into bed.

“What? No, he’s not. That’s just silly, Derek. What would he be doing here? Let me go back to bed.” Stiles complained. I heard a shuffling and I assume Derek showed Stiles his phone. There was a brief pause and then Stiles burst out of the bedroom and bounded downstairs. “Dad! Hey! Hi! Hello. What are you doing here?”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stiles was completely determined to get himself killed, or worse. There were a lot of things I could protect him from, hunters, other werewolves, even bullies. But how could I protect him from an alpha that I couldn’t keep him away from?

It was even harder when I couldn’t make myself sound serious about how badly he needed to stay away. Since I had become the alpha, I had become even more sensitive to whatever pheromones some quirk in his genetics made him emit. That was my best guess for Stiles. The wolf found him irresistible, and it was far stronger now than it had ever been when I was a beta. As far as I was concerned, luck alone explained why I had maintained control so well. Thus far there were only two accidental lapses in my control of the alpha. Once at the party, after seeing Stiles dancing in his room for Lydia and his brush with hypothermia when the wolf took the chance to stake a claim on the hyperactive teenager. I was lucky that I didn’t do more than kiss him. Had I not left when I did, it was doubtful that I would have been able to stop before the wolf’s desires trumped my own.

The second time was even more dangerous, but it did at least provide some answers. The first time Stiles came to see me after the party, his neck reeking of blood and worse, of Jackson, the wolf truly took hold. Whatever humanity remained in me was burned away in the heat of the wolf’s all-consuming rage and I nearly tore Jackson limb from limb. Seeing the blond jock’s pain and blood and hearing his apologetic, pain-soaked whimpers began to satisfy the wolf’s lust for castigation enough so that I could rein in the beast, find the bit of humanity that lingered in the recesses of my heart, and use the strong, steady sound of Stiles’ heart to lull the wolf back into a state of calmness.

Strangely enough, despite all this, Stiles came back. Not intermittently, not sporadically, he just came back. He sat through every lesson I gave Jackson (which was quite a few seeing how Jackson strived for perfection even though I made it clear he had nothing to prove), he waited through every phone call to old professors, bosses, landlord, piece of business that had to be handled, and he dealt with my constant evasion and occasionally blatant squashing of his questions. It was like he knew that I needed him around whether I liked it or not. The stay in New York had been… rough. On top of taking down everything that had been in our home on the east coast – the last bastion of Laura’s life – the wolf was going through withdrawals. My senses seemed empty without the constant barrage of stimuli that was the Stilinski boy. At every turn, if I wasn’t reminded of his fresh scent, it was his taste, or the way his fragile skin gave under the pressure of my claws.

It was disgusting.

Stiles was too fragile and too delicate to be paired with a monster like me. He was strong for a human, intelligent, incredibly resilient and resourceful, but that wouldn’t protect him forever.

So ‘ _I do not want him_ ’ became something of a mantra as the wolf stirred. It bristled with anger as the sheriff tried to take Stiles from me. I could feel the alarm and anger traveling along my skin in pinpricks that sharpened my hearing, made me aware of every scent that wafted off the sheriff, and dilated my pupils to pull in every possible bit of information about this feasible threat to the safety of my pack, and to the safety of a potential mate.

As Stiles and his father spoke, Jackson caught my attention with a conspicuous clearing of his throat. He was outside the house so Stiles and his father overhearing wasn’t a concern.

“Derek. I’m leaving. Have fun.” His voice dripped with the sarcasm of a man leaving his companion to what he considered the worst of all humanly torture: the Stilinski family. He slid into his car smoothly and drove away. Stiles didn’t pay any attention but I think the sound distracted his father because there was a lull in the conversation.

I’d been tuning them out, so I didn’t realize they had turned to me until Stiles was wildly flailing an arm in my face. I considered biting it for a moment, but didn’t trust that the wolf could be contained enough to keep him human so I decided against it.

He shrank away when I turned my glare on him and I second-guessed myself. Was I so out of control that my eyes started glowing without my knowledge?

“Dude. Chill. You look like you’re about to munch on a baby raccoon or something. Which is actually pretty convenient because Dad totally asked if you wanted to come to lunch at the diner with us.” Stiles asked, a grin curling his lips upwards. I was surprised by just how similar his golden brown eyes were to the boy who wanted to have a Star Wars marathon in the hotel after the fire, full of hope and life and a desire to make us feel better after our life. He was so pristinely human that it made my chest ache and the wolf whine for attention under his warm gaze.

I agreed. What else could I have done? The wolf didn’t like the idea of Stiles’ dad taking him away so this seemed like the best compromise. The wolf wouldn’t lose Stiles for a while longer and I would solve the rumbling in my stomach.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Derek seemed thoughtful as he accepted the offer to come to dinner with us. I was glad that he decided to come. Things were finally getting back to how they were before the craziness of the party. And I decided that it was just that, craziness. It was a lapse in sanity on my part due to shock from the cold. As for Derek, well, see, Derek was the alpha. Since I, for whatever reason, fell under the category of Derek’s pack, he had to take care of me. Hypothermia is a big deal, especially for a flimsy human body like mine.

He was worried. Scared to lose another member of his pack after having lost so many already. When I was fine, he was just relieved and couldn’t help from showing it when I accidently locked lips with the big bad wolf. That made sense, right? Way more sense than thinking for a second that a man – wolf or not – like Derek Hale would inexplicably want an awkward kid like me.

Yup, it was just insanity. I mean _the_ Derek Hale wanting a dumb teenager? It was enough evidence for Einstein to rethink his definition of insanity. Something along the lines of “Hot, broody werewolves suddenly thinking that they could actually be gay for a clumsy, hyperactive, and incredibly awkward teenage boy.

Anyway, I decided to ride to the diner with Dad and catch a ride back with Derek. I had some homework to do and being around the eternally angry wolf seemed to help me focus (if only because he’s glare and tell me if I got too far off topic).

Dad got a phone call when he pulled into a parking spot and I rolled my eyes. I knew exactly what that meant. Something came up and Dad needed to head back in to pull yet another all-nighter because the rest of the force couldn’t get anything done without my awesome father’s awesome ninja sheriff, slayer of evil, mojo on the job.

“This is the third time this week already.” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest and resting my forehead against the glass.

He eyed me apologetically over the phone but gave a nod. “I know, son. You and Derek get a good booth, alright? I’ll be in in just a sec. I won’t miss dinner.”

I sighed, but nodded and got out of the car. Derek waited at my side. He knew I was upset because he had that looked that said he was willing to suffer through my complaints if I needed to get it off my chest, but I just shrugged and waved him into the diner.

He stood in the doorway for a few seconds. I’m sure everyone just thought that he was choosing a place to sit, but I knew that he was scanning the building for threats. He locked eyes with Allison for a moment before her big smile lit up the quaint little eatery. She waved and the man she was with turned.

For once, I wish that she would have been lip-locked with Scott. But instead of Scott’s warm puppy eyes, I was met with the too-sharp blue eyes that reminded me of Derek’s old beta eyes in the creepiest of all ways. He perked a brow at Derek in something that looked too much like a dare for my liking.

I brushed by Derek, grabbing the sleeve of his gray Henley shirt and dragged him to a booth that looked out into the woods so that hopefully Derek wouldn’t up staring Mr. Argent down.

Thankfully, they both got up like they were ready to leave. The waitress walked to Allison’s father and smiled. “Mr. Argent, honey, you sure you and your pretty little daughter got enough to eat? We have pies if you want some dessert. I’m sure everyone here would be so much more comfortable if you stayed. People in this town just can’t be relied on any more.”

She looked over towards us, her stare burning into Derek briefly. They spoke lowly and I think Derek was doing that thing where you try your hardest not to overhear something but do anyway. This was another one of those moments when I reached desperately for something to talk about but couldn’t because the pressure was just too much to deal with.

Allison walked over as her father and the waitress kept talking, that knockout smile of her gracing her lips. “Hey, guys. I’m glad to know you two aren’t avoiding each other.”

Derek turned a glare on her, his body going tense. “Why would we be doing that?”

God, was Derek crazy? Getting all angry werewolf in front of a hunter’s daughter with her father right there? Did he have a death wish? I kicked him under the table and laughed nervously, grinning up at Scott’s girlfriend. “No, yeah, we’re cool. Everything’s cool. I don’t know what you’re talking about, Allison. Where’s Scott? Been keeping him busy? I haven’t heard from him lately. Make any pup – OWW!” I was rambling nervously, and the glare that Derek was giving me for kicking wasn’t helping. It was anti-helping. Oh, damn, I’m going to die later. Why did I decide not to drive again? Right, time with my dad and homework and that huge subconscious death wish of mine. At least Derek’s food connecting with my shin finally got me to shut up. I’m pretty sure he broke my shinbone with his stupid werewolf strength and his evil steel-toed boot, but he managed to stop my nervous banter.

Allison looked between us like she was trying to put the pieces together before she moved on with an awkward grin of acquiescence. “Alright. Well, Scott’s been working a good bit lately, and since everything that happened with Aunt Kate and Peter and Scott being… you know… Dad’s gotten a little overprotective.”

“Well, if he keeps working and you help him get his grades up, maybe you can talk him into going to a good school when we graduate so he can get into a nice veterinary school. He always seemed to think that he was just going to be a tech.” I said with a shrug. He knew his grades were never good enough to get into something competitive like veterinary school, pile on the lack of funding and it was a lofty goal to become a vet, but I always thought Scott would be good at his job.

I bet once he got his canine powers under control, it would be an even easier job that it would have been before. Derek seemed to be in control when he was around animals. Then again, Derek was much more of a bad ass than Scott would ever be. No offense, buddy.

“Allison. You ready?” Chris Argent asked, putting an arm around his daughter. He grinned at us and looked between us curiously. “Derek. I’m glad you’ve been staying out of trouble. I suppose having the sheriff’s son around to look after you helps. Are you two here alone? A man in his twenties and a boy still a few years away from graduating doesn’t seem like it would make for a very good mix. Aren’t there age concerns?”

“My dad’s in the car. He just had to take a call. He should be walking in any second.” I answered quickly, looking over my shoulder towards the door as it opened. I hoped it would be dad, but it was a group of strangers probably passing through town. The diner was close enough to the interstate that it got a fair bit of out of town traffic.

“Right. Well, enjoy your dinner. Derek, keep up the good work.” He said it like he was complimenting a dog for being well behaved. I couldn’t blame Derek for looking like he wanted to tear the man apart, but he was the closest thing to a hunter ally that Derek could hope for. They left, Allison turning to wave and tell me that she’d make Scott call before they got out of the building.

Sometimes interstate people sure were creepy. They caught my eye as I turned to sit normally again. There were four men dressed in leather and they looked like a biker gang. They glared at me around the waitress and I got an image of a bunch of homophobic Midwestern Harley drivers looking for a fight and assuming that we were dating because we were in a diner together (what was it with people assuming Derek and I were a thing? Did people think that about Scott and me before Allison came around?).

The waitress walked to us and drew my attention from the drifters, which was good because I was kind of freaking myself out and Derek still looked pissed about the kick so I didn’t want to push him and die where my dad could watch it happen.

“Sir.” The waitress asked coldly while her dark eyes, shrouded by a dusting of blue, locked on Derek. “You’re making our guests feel uncomfortable. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.

Derek’s jaw tensed and he glared up at the woman. “What do you mean?”

It was obvious what she meant. She wanted Derek out. If he had a reason to question her, I didn’t know what it was. I was too astounded by what she said to understand what Derek was thinking. Was this woman serious? Who were we disturbing? The biker guys that I’d never seen before? The town that was home to the Hales for years before their house was burned down? Derek was let off, it was found that his house was burned down intentionally with his family inside, and that the person who had been killing people and terrorizing Beacon Hills was found dead. Even if the killer was Derek’s uncle, there was nothing that he could do about that?

I blushed when a squeak worked its way out of my throat in my shock. The waitress turned her glare fleetingly on me before she looked at Derek again. “I said you need to leave. This is a family establishment.”

Derek’s brows perked at the woman, the anger that had been on his face now masked by a predatory, self-assured look that caused relief to well up in my chest. Derek had won somehow.

“I take it that you’re Miss Blackwell?” Derek asked patiently, glad his stare wasn’t turned on me. There was no way that I could handle the weight of that gaze. The waitress seemed shocked and at least a little disturbed that the alpha werewolf knew her somehow. Guardedly, she nodded at Derek and he continued with a calm and dangerous composure.

“I thought so.” Derek said, sitting up. He looked so imposing like that, his shoulders squared and his hazel eyes boring a hole through the woman’s soul. “You started this restaurant when I was a kid, right? Around twenty years ago? I was going through my family’s paperwork – what survived the fire – and I found a few things regarding an investment into a restaurant to be started by a Miss Blackwell in this area. Strange that I didn’t find any evidence of that investment paying off.”

The woman stiffened defensively, her eyes betraying any confidence that she might have retained in her composure. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m sure you don’t, but I’m willing to bet that the witness who signed the paperwork would have an idea. I believe it was a bank official. They probably have a copy of their own on file.” Derek said calmly, his eyebrows raised expectantly as he waited for her reply.

“Then you can find it if it exists. I suggest you leave. Like I said, this is a family restaurant. We don’t like serving criminals and murderers.” She said, the venom in her voice renewed.

“Nikki? There is something in this country called innocent until proven guilty. This young has been through enough, don’t you think? The charges against him were dropped and the real criminal was found. I think it’s time we give him a break.” My dad said to the woman as he slid into the booth. “If anyone has a problem with that, you can send them to me.” He told the waitress. Dad ordered sodas for all of us, and I was so proud of him that I didn’t even bother to switch his to a diet.

I was proud of Dad supporting Derek like that, but when it came to ordering food, I didn’t let him get the burger and fries he wanted. Dad got a grilled chicken sandwich and a side salad. I didn’t want to taunt him with something unhealthy so I got a club sandwich with fruit salad. Derek tried to get out of eating, but it didn’t take long to wear him down when we collectively threatened to buy him the most expensive things on the menu. Who would have thought that Derek would go for chicken salad of all things? I imagine him preferring a big chunk of meat, but maybe that’s just assuming he’s more of an animal than he really is.

The waitress never seemed pleased to help us. She rarely came around and was only begrudgingly nice at best. We never got a refill on our sodas and the bikers got their food (and a few refills) before we got anything. I tried not to look over there though. They still creeped me out, and it seemed like one of them would stare whenever I looked over there. Thank God I was with Dad and Derek. I wouldn’t have stayed if it was just Scott, but when you’re surrounded by a sheriff and a badass werewolf, you’re willing to stay around potential danger for a while longer.

We didn’t bother waiting for a check. Dad left a few bills on the table and as we walked out my father insisted that Derek stop offering him money or he was going to take the werewolf in for bribing an officer of the law.

Dad headed back into work, promising me that he’d be in by midnight and reminding me that it was a school night so I better do the same. I tried not to look back at the diner as we left. I was pretty sure that the waitress or the bikers or both were staring us down as we drove away.

Back at Derek’s, he sat on the floor reading while I stretched out on the only couch that wasn’t completely ruined by the fire to do my homework. Since there wasn’t exactly a ton of electricity in Derek’s house, or any, I brought a battery-powered lamp that he rigged to hang from a hole in the ceiling so we’d get the best light.

“Stiles. Get out.” Derek said when I finished my homework and started rambling to him about how unfair it was for Marie Antoinette to be beheaded because she was probably awesome like Lydia even if she was completely disconnected from her people. Exile was a thing, after all.

“What? But why? It’s not even ten! What happened to watching Thor?” I groaned, staring at Derek hopefully. “You said we could watch it. Don’t you want to stare at Natalie Portman for a while?” I asked, leaning towards Derek so much that I lost my balance and fell off the couch.

Derek pulled me to my feet with a handful of my shirt and pushed my books into my arms. “Too close to the full moon.” He growled, giving me a shove towards the door. “Go.”

I huffed and finished gathering my things. “Fine then. A boy knows when he isn’t wanted. I’ll go stare at Natalie Portman alone. Wait. No! That was not what it sounded like! You know what? Never mind. I’m leaving.”

Two days after the full moon, Jackson was waiting outside my car after school looking nervous.

“Have you seen Derek?” He asked anxiously, his blue eyes seeming sincere but I wasn’t trusting sincerity from Jackson Whittemore. There was bound be a cruel joke in there.

“No. Why?” I asked, tossing my books into my jeep. “Haven’t you been going to see him every day for training?”

“He hasn’t been there. I was hoping he’d be back by now.” Jackson admitted. He only seemed to be getting more nervous the more he spoke, and a red flag was going off in my head. Something wasn’t right.

“What do you mean you thought he’d be back?” I asked, letting out an exasperated sigh. Whatever Jackson was holding back, he needed to spill. I was getting tired of him fast.

“When we were out during the full moon something happened. All I remember is a bright flash. I was blinded, but then Derek pushed me in a direction and I just ran. I haven’t heard from him since.” Jackson admitted, tense as he exposed a massive failure on his part.


End file.
